Lower Coon Creek Corridor Restoration in Coon Rapids
The Coon Creek Watershed District in partnership with Anoka County Parks is restoring a portion of Coon Creek within the Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park.
Goals
- Reduce sediment & nutrient pollution
- Enhance habitat for native species
- Protect property
How it Works
- We stabilize multiple eroding streambanks and stormwater outfalls by using
- Rock riprap
- Woody bank protection
- Re-grading
- Replace and repair infrastructure
- armor gullies with rock
- We add in-channel and stream corridor habitat features:
- cross-vanes of rock to create pools and riffles
- woody structure in and above the water
- create backwater pools
- remove invasive buckthorn and add native plantings along the channel
Updates
To accommodate regulatory requirements and avoid impacts to threatened and endangered species that could be within the project area, construction has been split into two phases: Winter ’24-’25 and Spring 2025.
Winter 2024 – 2025:
This winter we will be moving forward with the parts of the project that are above the banks of the creek. This work will include tree removals, backwater habitat excavation, and stockpiling materials
Spring 2025:
Construction work within the creek itself will occur in the spring of 2025. Exact timing of this work will depend on weather, site conditions, and regulatory compliance. Restoration of the full project site will occur upon completion of this construction phase.
Steps completed to-date:
- 10/31/24 – Sunram Construction, Inc, was awarded the project
- 10/18/24 – Bid opening at the CCWD office
- 08/26/24 – Project design complete and project out for bid
- 11/08/23 – Public Information Meeting
Project Resources:
Questions? Contact Jon Janke, Director of Operations, Coon Creek Watershed District. Phone: 763-755-0975
For more details on other work occurring in the Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park: https://www.anokacountyparks.com/news/coon-rapids-dam-regional-park
Funding
This project is funded by the Coon Creek Watershed District, the MN Clean Water Fund (Workplan here), and federal US EPA 319 funds in partnership with Anoka County Parks.
